Tivesra
History Pre-Sycallan history and Tiberius Caelius Albanus Little is known about Tivesra before the beginnings of the Sycallan conquest, other than the fact that its people were of Zeltic origin, and that the Sycallans called the land Haelta. In the first age, it is known that Sycalla began to expand explosively, conquering what is now Daridan with ease and great precision. Under a period known as the Republican Era, their army was a disciplined and highly-organized fighting force. The Sycallans were also known to use a great deal of diplomacy in their war strategies, commonly turning their enemies against one another before moving in for the kill. By 1-431, the ancient city of Dalindium (natively known as Dalondoc, now known as Dalindie) had fallen to the Sycallans, who were swiftly gaining dominance of the inner sea. Sensing the danger the Sycallans posed, Teutorigos, the charismatic and fierce King of the Morcantii, united several of the north and central Tivesran tribes under him. Raising a large army (reported to be 80,000 men strong by Sycallan sources), he marched on Valindium and, overwhelming the Sycallan garrison, sacked the city. He then proceeded to march into Daridan, his strength growing all the while. The Sycallan Senate began to panic when another army sent north under Q. Marinus Mento was slaughtered by the Haeltans at the Battle of Daridulum, resulting in the sacking of the city. At this point, the Sycallans were pushed to the brink. A dictator was elected from their military aristocracy named Tiberius Caelius Albanus. Albanus was a proven general, having led numerous Sycallan wars against the southern Archons. With his veteran soldiers from the southern wars augmenting the green troops from Sycalla and the foreign provinces, Albanus marched into Daridan to halt the Haeltan advance. At the Battle of Castollum, the 80,000 men under Teutorigos clashed with the 50,000 legionnaires and auxiliaries under Albanus. The battle was widely-recorded as being a bloodbath, but in the end, Sycallan discipline and organization won out against the bravery of the Morcantii and their allies. Teutorigos was slain in battle, and his army was scattered. In the following four years, Albanus launched several campaigns into Haelta, eventually conquering the Morcantii and crucifying Teutorigos's sons and enslaving the rest of his kinsmen. For the next several centuries, the majority of Haelta would be under Sycallan rule. Sycallan rule (Waiting for Sul's approval. He already approved the above stuff.) Over the long period in which the Sycallans reigned over the Haeltans, their cultural identity was gradually warped. Their native customs were replaced by the "civilized" ways of the Sycallans, and they eventually became loyal citizens of the Empire. The Haeltan-born soldiers were known to be tough and dependable, while Haelta itself was eventually seen as an integral part of Sycalla. For centuries, this persisted. Eventually, however, after a long and staggering decline, the Sycallan Empire began to fall apart. The sacking of Sycalla by a horde of Gaelic barbarians in 1-931 marked the beginning of the Second Age. Rise of Tivesra As the Gaels sacked Sycalla, their distant cousins in Haelta were overthrowing their Sycallan masters in Dalindium. For several decades, the fragmented Haeltan warlords waged war on one another. In 2-29, Tives Furestom, Warlord of Morcantis, crushed the powerful Warlord Morsall of Kallaya (modern Calleys). Tives was the son of a Sycallan general and a Haeltan mother. During the fall of Sycalla, Tives's father (whose name has been lost to history) managed to secure Morcantis for himself as a private fief. Tives grew up watching his father fight wars against his rival warlords, and when his father died in 2-25, he began fighting his own wars. After his victory in Kallaya, Tives sweeped down into Postillum (modern Postille) and forced their warlord to bend his knee in fealty. With central Haelta secured, he began his march to Dalindium. Dalindium fell to Tives after the long Siege of Dalindium, after which the Warlord of Dalindium was executed along with his entire family. With most of Haelta in his grasp, Tives returned to Morcantis. In his throne room, he announced an end to the squabbling and chaos of the past. In a bold move, he proclaimed himself High King of Haelta. After Tives's death in 2-51, Tives's son Karles became the new High King. In honor of his father, he renamed Morcantis Tives. The Dukes of the Kingdom went further, requesting that Haelta be renamed Tivesra in the dead king's honor. King Karles agreed to this proposal. After securing his hold on power and winning the support of the nobility, Karles gathered his forces and invaded the Eleton peninsula. The battles were hard, with the untamed barbarians offering much in the way of resistance. By 2-62, however, the peninsula was conquered. In 2-65, while making preparations for an invasion of the Rheinlanders, King Karles fell sick and died. The throne was left to his young son Auguste, who became King at the tender age of nine. King Auguste I, the four Philippes and the rise of the Old Kingdom The young King Auguste's first regent was his uncle Philippe, the Duc d'Corestais. He heavily abused his power, but was stopped short of taking the throne by the Bishop of Postille, who led a conspiracy that resulted in Philippe's execution. The Bishop, a man known as Louis de Lemelin, became his new regent. Louis was more faithful than his predecessor, educating the young King while ruling competently and fairly. Eight years later, the Bishop died, and King Auguste began his reign. He immediately proved himself to be an active king, raising the levies of the realm and marching into the Rheinlands. While it is often believed that Henri de Lorais, the Duc d'Aesetain, led that campaign, it is known that King Auguste took a very active role. With the subjugation of the Rheinlands, King Auguste returned to Tives. For a further five years he reformed his nation extensively, creating a semi-professional army, the beginnings of the Royal Navy, and reforming taxation and logistics with inspiration from the Sycallan Empire. In 2-81, Tivesra received a plea from the Kingdom of Daridan, who were being overrun by the Gaelic tribes under High King Surmbha. King Auguste immediately mobilized his forces and marched into Daridan, doing battle with the fierce Gaels for the next four years. The Gaels were eventually driven out, losing Aregoi and Navarren as they were pushed into their heartland. King Auguste, the victor, claimed Daridan for his own, deposing the King of Daridan. With a swift invasion of Sycalla, the old peninsula was captured as well. King Auguste continued his reforms for the remainder of his reign, with Tivesra living in a state of overall peace until 2-105, when he invaded and subjugated the Wesserians in a three year war. King Auguste died at age 66 in the year 2-120, having reigned a total of fifty-seven years. He left the throne to Prince Louis, his eldest son. The Wesserians revolted against him upon his succession, funded by the Wrinnish, which caused a further two year war before they were put down once again. He then invaded and conquered Wrin in three years before being killed by a Wesserian assassin. The throne then passed to Prince Auguste, Louis's son, who was then crowned King Auguste II in 2-125. Rather than pursuing the jingoistic policies of his father and grandfather, he resigned himself to reigning peacefully, attempting to consolidate and solidify his holdings. He died forty years later at the age of sixty-nine in the year 2-165, leaving the throne to Prince Philippe, who became King Philippe I. He was already well-aged at the time, and suffered several Gaelic raids into Daridan. He responded with brutal force, setting up border defenses and brutally executing numerous Gaelic raiding parties before launching counter-raids into the Gaelic lands. The brutality did not cow the Gaels, who responded with an invasion, sacking Aregoi before progressing towards Navarren. They were met by high stone walls, and were forced to hold the city to siege. Within the month, the Royal Army arrived under King Philippe, where the Tivesrans gained a victory, demanding extensive reparations and land-gains. Minor raids between the two states continued, but no major campaigning took place. Philippe I died at the age of fifty-seven, eight years into his reign (in 2-173). His son, Prince Philippe, took the throne as King Philippe II. Philippe II was the first true tyrant in Tivesran history, having his brothers assassinated upon his father's death to avoid a succession crisis. A revolt arose in Wrin led by a descendant of Wrin's old king which was promptly crushed by the wrathful Philippe II. He then proceeded to Laurella, from where he sent a famous list of demands to the Verrans. They denied him, and he attempted an invasion through the mountains. He was met by fierce resistance from the Verrans, and despite his numerical superiority, could make no significant gains. He then sent offers to the numerous Verran chiefs, offering wealth and power in exchange for their allegience. Three accepted, known to the Verrans as the Traitor Triumvirate, and proceeded to disrupt the Verran war effort and kill the Verran Chief Councilor: Ivalo. Philippe II poured into Verr, suppressing and subjugating them while giving Duchies to the Traitor Triumvirate. He then prepared for a military campaign into the Gaelic lands before he was poisoned, allegedly by a vengeful Verran. (2-184) The throne passed to his son, Philippe III, who led a massive slaughter of the Verran people as retribution for the assassination. He quietly assassinated the Traitor Triumvirate, replacing them with Tivesrans, and also began hunting for the descendants of Chief Councilor Ivalo. For ten years Philippe reigned, the Verran will to resist crippled by harsh measures and oppressive practices. He smashed a Gaelic invasion eight years in, but was killed when he was swarmed by Gaelic assassins prior to Sunday Mass. The assassins were unaffiliated with any of the Gaelic kingdoms, and were likely just radical conspirators, but Prince Philippe (who quickly became King Philippe IV) vowed to get his revenge against the Gaels. (2-194) Raising many of the levies, and mobilizing the Royal Army, Philippe IV invaded the Gaelic Kingdoms, intent on conquering them. What would be known as the Gaelic Wars lasted fifty years, and while the Gaels fought fiercely, they were eventually overwhelmed and subjugated. (2-244) With this victory, King Philippe IV became undisputed master of Triophia. With his death five years later at the age of seventy-two, the Kingdom of Tivesra entered a long period of peace and consolidation. The Pinnacle of Power The Decline and Fall of the Old Kingdom The Tivesran Revolution The Consulate Politics Economy Culture Demographics Tivesra is an incredibly diverse nation, due in part to its former status as the heartland of the Old Kingdom and its recent territorial acquisitions under First Consul Avolaire. Of the 40,000,000 people within Tivesra, 22,000,000 are full-blooded Tivesrans, 3,000,000 and Tivesran-Daridese, 3,000,000 are Eliton, 7,000,000 are Rheinlanders, 4,000,000 are Wesserians, and 1,000,000 diaspora. Category:CS2 Category:Nations Category:Tivesra Category:Third Age Factions